Politics

If Russian President Vladimir Putin takes less dramatic action in Ukraine that could complicate the U.S. and allied response. Putin could carry out something that falls short of an all-out invasion, what Biden called a “minor incursion,” and that would leave the U.S and Europe divided on the type of severity of economic sanctions to impose on Moscow and ways to increase support for Kyiv.

A day before the site was scheduled to officially go online, the Biden administration quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home COVID-19 tests on Tuesday. The website, COVIDTests.gov, now includes a link for “every home in the U.S.” to access an order form run by the U.S. Postal Service.

Monday, on Martin Luther King Day, President Joe Biden took the opportunity to remind Americans that we must commit to continuing the unfished work of Martin Luther King Jr. For Biden that means delivering jobs and justice and protecting “the sacred right to vote, a right from which all other rights flow,” President Biden said.

The Supreme Court has stopped a major push by the Biden administration that would’ve boosted the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination rate and would’ve affected millions of lives. They put a halt to the requirement of employees at large businesses to get a vaccine or test regularly and wear a mask on the job.

One week after President Joe Biden took office, he created a task force with the goal of revising the policies surrounding science and politics. In May of 2021, that group, comprised of 50 experts from 29 different government agencies and led by the OSTP’s deputy director Alondra Nelson, began their work of reviewing the current agency policies, listening to public input, and meeting with other scientists and government officials.

On Monday a new US quarter featuring legendary poet and activist, the late Maya Angelou, went into circulation, the US Mint announced. This makes Angelou the first Black woman to ever appear on the coin. The Maya Angelou quarter is the first in the American Women Quarters Program, which will include coins that feature prominent women in American history. In a release on Monday, the Mint said that other quarters in the series will begin rolling out later this year and through 2025.

The Biden administration announced yesterday afternoon that starting this Saturday, private insurance companies will be required to reimburse 150 million Americans for their at-home COVID-19 tests. In a statement, Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra, stated, “We are requiring insurers and group health plans to make tests free for millions of Americans. This is all part of our overall strategy to ramp-up access to easy-to-use, at-home tests at no cost.”

After first being approved in December, Mayor Eric Adams has passed the controversial bill that allows approximately 800,000 noncitizens living in New York City the ability to participate in local elections. The support from the bill comes after concerns were raised from lawmakers, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, constitutional experts, and even Adams himself.

The Biden administration is distributing an additional $4.5 billion in funds to help low-income Americans cover heating costs during a second pandemic winter, AP News reports. According to a state-by-state breakdown that was released on Friday, cold-weather states will be receiving the largest share.

Michael Carvajal, the director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), is retiring after months of pressure from several lawmakers. The Bureau released a message to employees Wednesday stating, “At the request of the Attorney General, Director Carvajal has agreed to continue to lead the agency until a successor is named. When his successor has been named, further details regarding Director Carvajal’s retirement date will be provided.”

In the latest development in the ongoing Ukraine saga, the United States and Germany said on Wednesday that Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine’s border poses an “immediate and urgent challenge” to European security and that any intervention will draw severe consequences. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock presented a unified front on Russia after a meeting in Washington.

On Sunday, Twitter announced it had permanently suspended the personal account of Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for violating their company policy. In an effort to stop the spread of misinformation about Covid-19, Twitter has regularly banned and suspended the accounts of public figures who infringe upon their rules against inciting violence and publishing false information regarding the pandemic.